Wheel.



J. E. STRIETELMBIER.

. WHEEL.

APPIJOAHOI rum 1., m1.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

J. B. STRIBTBLMBIBR.

WHEEL.

nnxonxoa 111.1211 "3. 1:, m1.

Patented Nov. 14,1911.

3 'IBBTl-IIEST 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. STRIE'IEIIMEIER. OF CINCINNATI. OHIO. ASSIONOR TO THE IDEAL WHEE COMPANY. OF CINCINNATI. OHIO. A CORPORATION OI" OHIO.

"- WHEEL.

Specification 0! Letters Patent. flatonfed Nov. 14, 1911.

Application tiled February 23. 1911. Serial No. 610.248.

I particularlv to ellicient means for reducing the force of jars and jolte on the rim thereof. The object of my invention is to construct a. wheel havin'g springs between the hub and outer rim thereof, and to construct the springs in such manner that they will all unite in equalizing the weight or any strain or jar, when the ressure is on one point of the wheel, distnbuti .same throughout the wheel, therebv minimizing the ell'ect of same u )0 the vehicle.

Anot lt'l' object of my invention is to construct. the springs in a peculiar form and combine them in such a manner as to roduce a strong, durable and cflieient resilient wheel.

Another object of my invention is to produee means for connectin the Slllllgs to the hub and to the rim 0 the w eel, and also to each other, by means of connections, which while freely admitting of the movement required. will he firmly secured, and upon which there is little wear.

Another obiect of my invention is to proaluee a wheel of suflicient resiliency between the hub and rim having a cushioned tread that the jars and shocks against said cushioned tread will be more evenly distributed throughout the wheel than heretofore. and

thereby lessening the damage or wear to the cushioned trend, as well as to minimize the jars to the vehicle.

Another object of my invention is to provide resilient reinforcement adjacent the huh portion thereof, owing to the fact that a great deal of strain is placed upon this part of the wheel when thebrakes are applied,

and when the clutch of an automobile is thrown into engagement.

My invention consists in constructing the hub of a wheel with suitable logs of a pccullul' shape so as toallow the springs of the wheel to he fastened tightly thereto. and also in providing a. series of fastening devices around the rim of the wheel, and provided with suitable lugs thereon to which the. springs are fastened at their other ends.

My invention consists more specifically in a rim. a hub, bowed springs forming spokes extending radially from said hub, and intermediate springs connecting said bowed spring spokes to equalize and distribute the pressure placed upon the wheel, and also to strengthen the. spring spokes of the wheel arljae'cnt-tlw hub thereof.

NY in rention'also consists in fastening the spring spokes tightly to the lmb and rim of the wheel, and so as to admit of little wear, and still obtain ample resiliency of the springs to produce a cushioned eil'eet upon the vehicle.

My invention also consists in the parts and in the combination and arrangement of part a a.-: her in set forth and claimed.

in too accompanying drawings which some in illustrate my invention: Figure 1 is n filtlt! elevation of a wheel equipped with my invention. partbeing broken away. Fig. 2 is a cros section taken on the line .2-2 .of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the devices used for fastening the springsto the rim of the wheel. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the fastening means. whereby the spring is fastened to the hub of the wheel. Fig. 5 is a detail view, illustrating how the spring spokes and intermediate springs are fastened together. Fig. 0 illustrates a modification. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation view of a wheel illustrating a duplex form of my invention. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig.- 7 and illustrates how the springs are arranged in pairs and made wider adjacent the hub of the wheel.- Fig. 9 shows another modification of my invention, the springs being made of uniform width and the supports at the lmb being spaced apart.. Fig. 10 is another modification of my invention, illustrating how a single spring may be widened at the hub portion to increase its strength. and also illustrating how the washare or plates mounted at the center thereof may be fastened by means of the bolts passing through the tmtchcdedges of the spring.

In the embodiment of my invention as illustrated. and which shows a. pre ferred construction, 1 represents the rim of the wheel. being preferably made of wood. having a.

lit)

lti

eleneher flange metal rim 2 thereon, to receive a tire ll.

4 illustrates the lmb of the wheel rovided with lugs 5 thereon, to which cut spring spokes 6 are fastened.

luteriosed between the spring spokes 6 I provite leaf springs 7 andl8. he springs 7 are adapted to extend down to the hub of the wheel aml fasten adjacent the spring a iokes (l for the purpose of stren gthenln the central part of the wheel. 1he bot hole 7' in the central part of the spring 7 is elongated len thwiseof the spring to permit of longitm inal movement thereof relatively to the spring spokes 6 when yielding under pressure as clearly shown in Fig. Each leaf spring 8 is bent to form a part. circle, and is fastened to leaf spring spokes 6 between their ends. The washers 10 and 10' are each elongated and adapted to engage two bolts and nuts as shown. If desired, s rings made after the style of spring .nay 'nsed for intermediate spokes instead of using the springs S. or vice versa, the springs S may he used instead of the springs 7. c

It is readily seen that by using springs as spokes in a wheel of this character, a great deal'depends upon the fastening'mcans of the springs, and it is one of the important features of this invention to produce means whereby the springs may be tightly held in position; without fear of them ecoming worn and loosened so as to create rattling. To accomplish this result, I provide the tags 5 on the hub, having concave surfaces on each side, the ends of the springs 6 being bent to lit the concave surface of the lugs Suitable holes are rovidcd in the lugs 5 to receive bolts 9. 'ashers 10 are provided and are constructed with a convex surface 11 on one side, adapted to fit the concave surfaces of the springs 6 when they conform to the surfaces of the h 5. Bolts 9 are then inserted through Slllttlblt't'llfllt's in the washers 10 and through the openings in the lugs 5 and are then tightened.

It is readily seen by referring to Fig. 4 that the springs 6 have plenty of room between the washers 10 and the lugs hat the top thereof to spread or straighten without bending over a sharp edge, as would be. the easit the top edges of the washers 1t) aml the lugs 5 lil closely to said springs It. This would, of course. tend to break the springs ti and would Pltltlllt't' a weaker wheel. llowevcr, the springs are securely locked and held at their ends by the action of the convex sides of the washers ltt pressing the springs i against the concave sides of the lugs 5, thereby reducing the strain on the bolts and the spring at the bolt hole.

The springs ll :ll't insti led in exactly the 'same manner to tam-mag members 12,

mounted on the rim of the wheel by means of bolts 13. The fastening members l2 are also provided with lugs 14 corres m|uhng to the lugs 5 on the hub, the lugs 14 lmving concave sides for the pur )ose of producing a. more secure holding f u! the sprin s ti. The washers 10' are then used with the bolts 9 in the same naumer as on the hub, thereby producing a secure fastening for the sprm lhc fastening nu-mbers 12 are also provi ed with flanges 12' adapted to engage the sides of the wooden rim 1 of the wheel, and are also provided with suitable openings 17 to allow the holding device to be fastened to the top rim by the bolts 13.

Shoulders 18 are formed upon the hub 4 upon each side of the lugs 5 against which the inner end of each swing spoke 6 is uda )ted to firmly rest. no edge of each was n-r ltl'is also ada )trd to abut a must said shoulders where y the end 0 the swings are more securely held. Similar sioulders ll are formed on the fastening members 12 for the purpose (i-f engagin the outer ends of the spring spokes (l llllt one edge of each washer 10.

lhc springs t, forming the. spokes of the wheel, are fastened to the intermediate springs 7 and 8 by means of bolts 15, which are best shown in Fig. 5. The bolts 15 are provided with suitable washers or elongated plates 16 which have a convex surface on one side thereof, which are adapted to engage the sides of the springs which they are adapted to hold together. By means of the convex surfaces on the washers, the springs are all. red to expand and contract without fear of them being broken b coming in contact with the sharp edges 0 the washers.

Various naalilieations of my invention may be made without departing from its spirit or scope, as for instance. the central portion of the wheel may. be reinforced by resilient anemia-rs or springs l, or by means of the auxiliary spring mcmbers'QO. and I do not therefore wish to be limited to the precise details of construction and arrang ment set forth.

it is a well known fact that the wheel, especially of an autonn'ibile, .whieh is connected to the driving mechanism of the machine is under greater strain at the hub portion thereof than any of the other Win-(ht of the nan-him. 'lhercl'ore it is necessary to eon.-.trnet said wheel stronger ad'aeent the hub. 'lo neemnplish this I'tsllll, construct the springs forming the spokes (iof greater width at the hub than at the rim. the preferred form of which is shown in Fig. S. The springs S are then boiled in the usual manner.

Itis seen in Fig. 8 that the wheel can readily be con tructed in a duplex form, that is having oomph-h; sets of,springs side bv side with only one hub and one rim. ]'.aeh spring 6' may be made wider at the huh and narrower at the rim, the rim portion being secured bv means of one bolt, whereas the hub portion may be secured in the usual manner with two bolts. In constructing a wheel afl'e'r this fashion, it is necessary to construct the fastening members 12' with lugs 14, the lugs 14' being placed at the side of the fastening melnlaars 19'. as shown in Fig. h. The lugs 14' shown in section in Fig. 8 for the springs i are placed on the left i and side of the fastening struction emploving the single spring member 12'. The ngs J'tnn the following fastening member 1'." will he placed on the right hand side to allow for the connection of the springs ti on the right. hand side of the wheel. Thus the lugs H on the fastening members 12' are staggered to register with the s rings 6' which are also staggered according y. The hub 4' is also provided with lugs 5 which are also staggered in the same manner as the lugs H on the members 12'. Thus one complete set of springs on one side oi the wheel is placed on said wheel in such amount as to allow the springs ti. on one set to be disposed between the springs 0' of the other set. thus producing a more evenly balanced wheel. as shown in Fig. 7.

A chea )0! form of accomplishing the same resu t: or wherethere is no driving strain required of the wheel. is shown in Fig. 9 where it is seen that the springs 6" are made of uniform width. ru'el'erably coming together at the rim and separated at. the hub )ortion of the. wheel, thereby impart ing the necessary strength to the hub )0!- tion of the wheel. and making the w \eel strong against. side strain. in this form of wheel the springs B may he made the same width as the springs a" and the hub 14 may be n-ovided with lugs 5" for the purpose of owning a conne ting means for the sprilws ti". These springs are arranged radially ill the saine manner as the swings t olyl ig. 8 each set being staggeret relatively to the other around the wheel. in this form the plate washers 13 are provided with a flange on each side to engage the edges of springs S holding it; fixed rclativcly to said spring.

Fig. 10 illustrates a simpler form of conmade wider at the hub portion thereof, and being fastened thereto by means of two bolts. tapering therct'rmn to the rim to which it; is fastened with one bolt. In order that the s wing .23 may not. be weakened at its centre portion where the interuaaliate springs are fastened, notches are n'ovided in the sides of said spring .23 wtich are ada rted to receive the bolts lli. the washers l6 icing made longer than usual and forming clamp plates. The fastening members 24 in this form of wheel are provided with the extending lugs 21 which are provided wheel. t

The construction and arrangement of the -parts as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive are adapted and intended for all ordinary Fig. 7 to 10 inclusive is especially adapted and intended for wheels requiring greater strength, such as automobile freight trucks and the like, in which case the construction for the rearor driving wheel. and the construction .shown in Fig. 9 for the other wheels.

I claim:

letting the springs 19 to the rim of the usages, while the construction shown in illustrated in Fig. 8 is especially adapter] 30 1. A wheel comprising a rim, a hub, a. se- 5 rics of bowed spring spokes extending radially from said hub to said rim and bulging from each other at their central part and bulging in the reverse direction near each end, outwardly extending lugs on said hub and inwardly extending lugs on said rim each having curved surfaces adapted to reeeive the curved end surfaces of the spring spokes resmwtively. and bolts extending transversely through said lugs and spring spokes respectively, nuts adapted to secure and clamp said spring spokes in position, and a series of intermediate curved springs secured at their ends to said bowed spring spoke between their ends. and another series of curved spring spokes secured to th spring spokes at the end :uljacent the hub and also near the center of the convex sides of said spring spokes, substantially as set forth and for the purposes specified.

2. A wheel comprising a rim having a series of inwardly extending-la s thereon. a lmb having a series of ontwarlly extending lugs thereon. bowed spring spokes arranged in pairs and bulging from each other in their central part, and tapering toward each ther near theiecnds and suitably secured at each end to said lugs respectivelv. and interuwdiate springs secured to and between their ends. and bulging outwardly-toward the rim. substantially as set forth and for the purposes spot-died.

.l. wheel comprising a rim. :1 series of fastening means secured thereto and each having a lug extending inwardly. said lugs having concave surfaces upon their oppo-' site sides. a shoulder on said member at one. end of each concave surface. a hub 'n""vided with a series of outwardly extending lugs having concave surfaces on their opposite sides, a shoulder at one end of each concave surface and spring spokes curved tomormallv lit said oncave surfaces and caci.

said pairs of spring spokes intermediate of with shoulderextensions .22 at. the side 1 adapted t lam Hct-mlshear firmly against 13 I 10 ends adjacent the hub and 0 nin lengthwise of the spring between he ems of said curved 5 ring. whereby longitudinal movement 0 said curved sprm relative to said spring spokes is per- 15 mitte during the yielding of said springs and spring spokes.

JOHN E. STRIETELMEIER.

Witnesses:

James N. Rsusu', W130! Donn. 

